waiting for a superman

when i opened my eyes in my dream last night, i discovered i was back in my mama superhero costume. the rainbow harem pants, the silver corset, the silver boots, the big, crazy hair. i was in sydney australia, trying to navigate the train system there; and i was in a big rush. my girl [info]most_mysterious was with me, but she wasn't a superhero; she was desperately trying to find her daughter who'd gotten lost in a crush of people at train station and we hadn't noticed until we were already on the train and moving that she wasn't with us. we went two stations before we could push our way out of the car. we were both in a panic but i felt very strongly we'd be able to get back to her daughter. i had to literally shove people out of our way to get off the car. the train we'd been on was destined for a place called "trifle", and we had to go the opposite way on the line towards "ewing". i finally got us both off the train and we started dashing up a huge metal ramp to get to the other side of the tracks. there we passed a woman i met last year, a mother of one of liam's kindergarten classmates. she didn't have either of her two boys with her, though; instead she had twin toddler daughters who were having trouble getting up the ramp -- they kept falling and bonking their heads. i wanted to stop and help but [info]most_mysterious was panicking and screaming at me to go faster. i finally grabbed her by the upper arm and...i don't know how to describe it...it was like in the other dream when i managed to sort of defy gravity somewhat and take huge leaps through the air, bouncing down and then back up again, covering great amounts of terrain in a fraction of the time it would take a non-superhero to walk. she was trailing along beside me, trying to keep up, but i was dragging her through the air and her pathetic little mortal feet would scramble on the pavement each time we touched down. at one point she just looked up at me and said, "what on earth happened to you?" and i shrugged and said, "i've got no idea, but am i ever glad it did." and then i woke up. i have to say, i'm very much enjoying my "super-mama" dreams. i always come up to consciousness feeling very strong and vital. i wonder what they mean?

you seem so out of context

i dreamed last night that i was walking along a beach with my kids when a huge electrical storm hit and i had to run and dodge lightning bolts while dragging my kids along with me. we managed to find shelter in this weird skyscraper that was shaped like a horseshoe, and the ends of the horseshoe were wide open to the elements. a whole lot of people were seeking shelter in it, and despite it being a huge building, everyone was crowding into the lowest floor because (i was told) there was a monster of a tornado ripping towards the area. i forced my way to the back of the horseshoe shape and tucked my kids into a little dark closet so that they'd be safe from the blasting winds and rain, and then i tried to find my own space to crouch down. i was pushing my way through the throngs of people when i saw my mom stumbling along the beach, struggling through the torrential rain and barely missing being hit by lightning, and i ran out of the building again to try and help her. i pulled her inside just as the tornado appeared on the horizon, roiling across the choppy grey water of the ocean. it was massive. as thick and wide as an apartment complex, and taller than any building i'd ever seen, its funneled top swirling up into the atmosphere. i could see cars and huge chunks of houses swirling around inside its black innards and it's movement was purposeful and definitely headed straight towards the horseshoe building. i was terrified! i grabbed my mom and pushed her against one of the walls, yelling "crouch down! close your eyes! cover the back of your neck with your arms! i love you!" and we crouched down and the sound of the approaching tornado was deafening and rising by the second. becase my eyes were closed i did not see it hit but the sound of it became so horrendously loud that it drowned out my own screams. i didn't feel it hit.

when i opened my eyes, i was lying on the floor of a shiny, mirrored elevator, alone. stunned and confused, i stood up and took note of my appearance in the mirrors on the walls. the elevator was moving, heading down. my hair was long and impossible huge, pulled back into tight pony tail, and it was dyed a platinum yellow with streaks of pink, blue, peach and purple threaded throughout it. my clothes were even stranger. i was wearing a tight silver corset that zipped up the front and these crazy, colourful harem pants that flowed out around my thighs and the top half of my calves until they met up with my shiny, silver lace-up boots. on my arms i wore long, fingerless rainbow gloves that rode all the way up to just below my shoulders. looking in that elevator mirror, i realized the tornado had transformed me into some kind of new
superhero.

the elevator stopped moving, finally, and when the doors opened i stepped out into the lobby of what i assumed to be some kind of business building. people in dark suits clacked to and fro across the marble tile. i was quite a sight among them and got many strange looks, but it didn't bother me because i felt impervious and immune and confident. i strode across the lobby and stepped out into the impossibly bright sunlight of downtown seattle. traffic was crazy and after standing at a streetlight for a long time, waiting for the light to change and grinning at all the people who gawked at my crazy hair and apparel, i finally lifted my right leg high in the air, and stepped up onto the hood of a moving car, the driver within shocked and then suddenly swearing at me. i ignored him and began dashing across the road by leaping from moving car to moving car, all the drivers freaking out and honking and the crowds on the streets clapping and laughing at me. it was almost as though i did not have to obey the laws of physics anymore; striding over the moving vehicles felt like what i imagine walking on the moon would feel like, and although all the traffic was moving quickly and dangerously, i
knew i was in no peril. i was on my way to find my children and my mother, and nothing would stop me.

after i got across the intersection i strode down a shady alley and just as i exited onto another busy street a cherry red convertible filled with the seattle mamas peeled around a corner and came to a screeching halt in front of me. [info]charris, [info]photosprout, [info]estersin and [info]contessapiranha were all inside, laughing and hooting at me and motioning for me to get in the car with them. they were all done up in super hero costumes of their own, brightly coloured and a couple of them were even masked, and i remember specifically that [info]contessapiranha had some kind of fancy magic ring on her finger, heavy and thick and silver, and as i leapt into the backseat of the car she raised her bejewled hand into the air, made a fist, closed her eyes, and fwoom!, a sonic blast filled the street, bending skyscraper windows in on themselves, and stopping time. [info]photosprout was driving, and she dodged expertly around the frozen cars and pedestrians while we all cackled crazily, feeling high on our powers, and knowing that we were going to fulfill all our obligations as the world's new saviours.